Hey guys. Maybe I’m going about this all wrong, but now that I’ve got most of the frame set up I decided to place my roadster body on the frame so that I can get my steering box & clutch/brake pedals situated. After placing the body on the frame I realized the subrails are going to need some modifying in order to sit on the frame properly. I have no idea where the body should be sitting on the frame nor do I know the process of t******* the subrails to fit. Posted below are some photos of what I have. The way I Z’d the frame causes the rear subrail to land right on top of the Z. Can I cut & move the rear subrail forward a few inches without causing any problems. Does anybody know of another thread that shows this process or maybe a video. If not maybe someone can post pics of how to do this or explain the process. Also it looks like my sub rails may have been cut & repaired or modified at some point. Any idea what was done or why this may have been done. See pics bellow. Thanks Fellas
There's is supposed to be a wood block kit that mounts between the subrails and the frame. You will still need the front ones and middle ones. Once you have those you can measure the gap and see how much you will need to kick up the rear subrails to make the mounting solid and in alignment.
I generally pinch the rear frame rails just ahead of the Z to avoid cutting the subrails. This is a T on an A Frame but same basic job.
Hey Fellas. Thanks for your responses. I’m found some old photos online of a cut or “notched” subrail & kind of used what they did to get my subrail set down. By no means will I say this is the correct way of doing this, but it accomplished what I was trying to do. My concern now is figuring out how to brace the rear of the subrail to give it more support. I’m ***uming that once all the body components are attached it will start to stiffen everything up. Based on where & how my Z was done I had to cut & move the rear subrail forward a few inches. I posted some photos below of my process. Let me know what you guys think good or bad. I’d like to know. Thanks
Hey Alchemy. Yes. That is correct. Thanks for the heads up. I plan on ordering the kit soon. At this point I’m planning on taking the body off again after I get the steering column & brake pedal/clutch set. I still have much to do on the ch***is & was told the body blocks aren’t necessary for mock up. Maybe the info I was given us wrong. That’s why I like to check with you guys. Thanks
I did mine a little different and didn't Z the frame as much, the kick up on mine starts just behind the cross rail in the sub rails. Mine is Z'ed the width of the frame and I trimmed the cross member to the same width as the frame. I then notched the side sub rail just enough to clear the frame and boxed the side of the sub rail for strength. I used 2" 1/8" angle to raise the floor and built a new floor with a raised hump to clear the cross member. Lost trunk space but no body strength and set the gas tank just ahead of the cross rail, I have a plywood barrier behind the seat which gives me a little protection from the gas tank. I did my avatar was done the same way in the early 90's with no problems on either one and really happy with the way the car sits.
Did find a couple of other pictures in another file showing what I did on the sub rail and frame. A lot of similarities in the cars, I'm also running an 8BA in my coupe. I used all the stock wood body mounts including a block I cut down on the rear cross member, you adjust the doors by shimming the body blocks.
If you think being a half inch or so off is close enough, then maybe you can build without the blocks. If you like things to fit properly, then get the blocks now.
Hey guys. Point taken by alchemy & 37kid. I’ll purchase the body blocks before I go any further. Any suggestions on where to purchase them?? Thanks
Hey Gomez, Great photos. I like how you did it. I love the idea of boxing the subrail. I think I’m going to for sure do that to add strength. Everything you & everyone else is posting is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks
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